


Indoor Camping

by fromcrossroadstoking



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Camping, Fluff, M/M, joe is a creative and thoughtful boyfriend, sad George
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:41:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24722464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromcrossroadstoking/pseuds/fromcrossroadstoking
Summary: George can`t go camping, so Joe brings the camping to George.
Relationships: George Luz/Joseph Toye
Kudos: 7





	Indoor Camping

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the HBO War characterizations, not the actual men.

George isn`t his usual self and it`s a problem that`s been bothering Joe for two days now. Joe knows exactly what the issue is. He just isn`t sure how to fix it yet. But he damn well knows he needs to figure it out soon because George`s low mood is a very concerning thing.

Hell, a disappointed George Luz is one of the saddest sights on planet earth.

George`s blue mood began on Thursday. Thursday was the day George should have been bouncing around in the passenger seat of Joe`s car, singing along to every song on the radio, and excitedly jabbering Joe`s ear off for hours on end. The two of them should have been at the campground in Maine by dinner.It should have been their second year attending the big annual Luz family camping trip together.

Instead, they were both stuck in (a very rainy) Philadelphia. George hadn`t been able to get the time off work and he was understandably upset about it. George had never, _ever_ , in his twenty-two years on this planet, missed his family`s annual camping trip. Until this year. And it was breaking his heart.

Two days had now passed since that Thursday morning when they should have been leaving, but George`s funky mood had not followed suit and passed as well. So, when Joe woke up that Saturday to a still down in the dumps George, he decided enough was enough. He waited for George to head off to work before heading out himself to run a few errands. 

His first stop was the grocery store to pick up a few essentials; hot dogs, a bag of ice, graham crackers, marshmallows, Hershey bars, and a couple other items.

Next up was the dollar store for paper plates and several packages of glowsticks. As he headed to the checkout, he passed by a bin of books. Right on top of the pile was a book titled “Ghost Stories”. _Perfect_. He added it to his basket.

Last on his list was a stop at the grocery store for some of George`s favorite beers. (He picked up a couple of his favorites too).

When he finally returned to the apartment, the real work began. He had a lot to do in a short amount of time, so he set about transforming the apartment immediately.

He pushed the sofa and love seat against the walls and moved the coffee table to the guest room. He then made a couple of trips to their storage in the basement to retrieve their tent, cooler, and sleeping bags.

Joe set the tent up in the living room and it ended up taking up almost the whole damn thing. He carefully made sure that they would have a clear line of sight from the tent`s opening to the television. He then laid out their sleeping bags, threw in a bunch of pillows, and called the tent set up done. To finish off the living room, he hung twinkle lights on the ceiling (it was as close as they were about to get to sleeping under the stars) and put the cooler, now filled with ice and beer, on the floor next to the tent.

Joe even got the kitchen in on the game. Pushing their tiny table to the far corner, he laid a picnic blanket on the floor and topped it off with a picnic basket.  
When he was finished, Joe took a moment to look around at his handiwork.

_This has got to work._

  
**~ 45 Minutes Later ~**

As George returns home that day, he promises himself he`ll try harder to not be such a drag around Joe. He knows he hasn`t been in the best mood lately and he can`t help but worry that it`s starting to grate on Joe.

However, the second that George opens the door to their apartment, he knows he isn`t going to have to try very hard to act like he`s in a better mood. It seems Joe has transformed their place while he was gone into their own little campground and George can already feel his blues melting away. His face lights up like a kid at Christmas and he lets out a low whistle.

“You`ve been busy.”

Joe pulls him in to a hug and greets him with a kiss. 

“Well, we can`t go camping, so I figured I`d bring the camping to us.”

It`s more than George could have ever asked for. Joe even packed their dinner in a proper picnic basket and they have a picnic of sorts on their kitchen floor. They toast marshmallows (or at least attempt to) over the gas burners on their stove. They play card games and drink beer and chow down on trail mix. That night, Joe turns off all the lights except for the twinkle ones and George swears if he squints just right, they look just like the stars. Joe even plays a video of a campfire on loop on their television. And as they lay curled up in their tent, watching a virtual fire, and sipping on yet another round of beers, Joe presents him with one last surprise.

“Almost forgot. Got you this too.”

Joe hands him a red book with _Ghost Stories_ stamped on the cover in gold lettering.

“Ghost stories! Prepare for a scare, Joe Toye!” Luz says it in his best horror movie villain voice and Joe just snorts (a ghost story hasn`t scared him since he was five).

George cracks open the book and starts flipping through. Before long he`s laughing so hard tears are streaming down his face. 

“What`s so funny?”

“ _Joe!_ ”, is all George manages to get out before succumbing to another fit of laughter.

“What?”

George does his best to collect himself.

“Joe, how closely did you look at this book?”

Joe shrugs, “It said _Ghost Stories_ on it, so I bought it. Why?”

George`s eyes are bright with barely constrained amusement.

“Joe, my love, these are naughty ghost stories. Very naughty ghost stories." George widens his eyes for emphasis.

” _What?_ No. It was in a bin with children`s books and stuff!“

George clears his throat and begins to read from a random page in the middle of the book in his most ridiculous "sexy” voice, “The invisible presence began to stroke her, soft and slow, right- ”

Joe grabs the book from George`s hands and tosses it in to the corner of the tent.

“Okay, okay! I believe you. No need to read that shit out loud.”

George collapses in another burst of laughter, arms clutching his ribs.

As Joe watches his boyfriend dissolve in hysterics, he can feel the unmistakable warmth of relief and happiness flood his body. 

  
**A happy George Luz is one of the greatest sights on earth.**


End file.
